Aryna Sabalenka was knocked out of the WTA Finals by Elina Svitolina after she suffered a 6-3 3-6 6-1 defeat to the Ukrainian on Friday; Svitolina will take on Mirra Andreeva in Sunday’s final, Aryna Sabalenka has apologised for an on-court outburst in her three-set loss to Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals. Video circulating widely on social media appeared to show Sabalenka swearing in a tirade during Friday’s 6-3 3-6 6-1 loss at the season-ending championships in Indian Wells. The former top-ranked player from Belarus said on Saturday she was upset by the behaviour of spectators during the match. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player “My comment was not directed at Elina,” Sabalenka posted on Instagram, without mentioning what she said.
“I was frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes, and I reacted emotionally in the moment. “That said, I should have handled my frustration differently, and I apologise to anyone I offended. Elina played a great match, and I wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament.” Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Svitolina did not shake hands with Sabalenka following the match. The Ukrainian has maintained a stance of refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players following Russia’s invasion of her country in 2022.
Ukrainian players also do not take pre-match photographs with Russian and Belarusian players. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player She was booed at the French Open in 2023, when she refused to shake Russian-born player Anna Blinkova’s hand. In the quarter-finals of the same event, Svitolina was beaten 6-4 6-4 by Sabalenka, and was again booed after she refused to shake the world No 2’s hand. Sabalenka previously said that she “respected” Svitolina’s decision not to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players and “didn’t deserve” to be booed.
Svitolina is now set to play Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in Sunday’s final of the $10 million event, live on Sky Sports. Sabalenka was visibly annoyed during the match, and she declined to speak with media afterwards. “There’s many flags and many Ukrainian supporters are here and of course they want me to win in this particular match,” Svitolina said when asked about Sabalenka’s online post. “I have seen a glimpse of it because obviously it’s on social media, but yeah, I just hope the matches between us are respected.
Sometimes in some matches there are not great comments towards me in regard to the war. “It is like this on social media sometimes that things are turned around a little bit,” she said. Reflecting on Sabalenka’s comments, Svitolina called for fans to show more respect to both players. “I think we played many times, with Aryna.
She has her fans, I have my fans,” she told reporters, following her 6-2 6-1 win against Linda Noskova on Saturday. “Every country, every match that we’ve played has been kind of different. “I have seen a glimpse of it [the video] because obviously it’s on social media.” Watch Svitolina take on Andreeva in Sunday’s final LIVE on Sky Sports Tennis from 8pm. Not got Sky?
Latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract on NOW
Leave a Reply